VANET Broadcast Protocol: A Multi-Hop Routing Framework for Vehicular Networks in ns-3

Vehicles are more frequently being built with hardware that supports wireless communica- tion capabilities. Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) is a standard that enables the hardware on vehicles to communicate with one another directly rather than through external infrastructure such as a cellular tower. With DSRC supporting small-range communications, multi-hop routing is utilized when a packet needs to reach a long-range destination. A vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) broadcast protocol (VBP) was developed. This thesis introduces VBP, an open-source framework for simulating multi-hop routing on mobile and wireless vehicular networks. VBP is built for the routing layer of the network simulation tool called network simulator 3 (ns-3) and contains a custom protocol that adapts to various traffic conditions on a roadway. To test VBP we ran six simulations across three traffic levels. Results confirm that VBP successfully routes packets or queues packets when a first or next hop is not available. The development process of VBP is documented to help researchers who are trying to create a custom routing protocol for ns-3.